The Shawshank Redemption

[A group of new prisoners is being processed into Shawshank State Prison.]

Norton:
This is Mr. Hadley, captain of the guards. I'm Mr. Norton, the warden. You are convicted felons. That's why they sent you to me. Rule Number One- no blasphemy. I'll not have the Lord's name taken in vain in my prison. The other rules you'll figure as you go along. Any questions?

Inmate:
When do we eat?

[Norton nods to Captain Hadley, who gets right in the new inmate's face]

Byron Hadley:
You eat when we say you eat, you sh*t when we say you sh*t, and you piss when we say you piss! You got that, you maggot-dick motherf***er? [Slams his baton into the new inmate's stomach, causing the man to fall to his knees, gasping for breath]

Norton:
I believe in two things. Discipline, and the Bible. Here you'll receive both. Put your trust in the Lord. Your ass belongs to me. Welcome to Shawshank.

[There might be an edited version in which Norton says "The rest" rather than "Your ass".]

[A new group of prisoners has arrived at Shawshank, Andy Dufresne among them, and the convicts are "going fishing", taunting the new prisoners and making bets on who will break down crying first.]

Heywood:
Hey, Fat Ass. Fat Ass! Talk to me boy! I know you're there. I can hear you breathin'. Don't you listen to these nitwits, you hear me? This place ain't so bad. Tell you what, I'll introduce you around, make you feel right at home. I know a couple of big old bull queers that'd just love to make your acquaintance. Especially that big, white, mushy butt of yours.

Fat Ass:
Oh, God. I don't belong here!

Inmate:
We have a winner!

Heywood:
And it's Fat Ass, by a nose! Fresh fish! Fresh fish!

Prisoners:
[Chanting] Fresh fish! Fresh fish! Fresh fish! Fresh fish!

Fat Ass:
I wanna go home! I want my mother!

Inmate:
I had your mother, she wasn't that great!

[A door on the ground floor opens, and Captain Byron Hadley and several guards walk onto the cell block.]

Byron Hadley:
What the Christ is this happy horseshit?!

Prisoner:
You took the Lord's name in vain; I'm telling the Warden!

Byron Hadley:
You'll be telling 'im with my baton up your ass!

Fat Ass:
You gotta let me outta here! You gotta!

Byron Hadley:
What is your malfunction, you fat barrel of monkey-spunk?

Fat Ass:
Please... I ain't supposed to be here. Not me!

Byron Hadley:
I ain't gonna count to three. I'm not even gonna count to one; you will shut the f*** up or I will sing you a lullaby!

Heywood:
[now nervous, under his breath] Shut up, man. Shut up.

Fat Ass:
You've made a mistake! You don't understand, I'm not supposed to be here!

Byron Hadley:
Open that cell!

Inmate:
Me neither! They run this place like a f***ing prison!

[The cell door is opened, and Captain Hadley grabs Fat Ass and drags him out into the middle of the first floor of the cell block. Taking out his baton, Hadley savagely beats the new inmate.]

Byron Hadley:
Son of a b*tch.

Inmate:
Cap, take it easy.

[Finally, Fat Ass is beaten into unconsciousness. The inmates, who had been shouting and cheering when the guards first arrived, are now silent.]

Byron Hadley:
[Putting away his baton] If I hear so much as a mouse fart in here the rest of the night, I swear by God and sonny Jesus you will all visit the infirmary. Every last motherf***er in here! [To his men] Call the trustees, take that tub of sh*t down to the infirmary.

[Captain Hadley and the guards leave the cell block, and the lights go off again.]

Red:
His first night in Shawshank Prison, Andy Dufresne cost me two packs of cigarettes. He never made a sound.

Norton:
[Takes the Bible from Andy's hands] I'm pleased to see you reading this. Any favorite passages?

Andy:
"Watch ye therefore; for ye know not when the Master of the House cometh."

Norton:
Mark 13:35. Always liked that one. But I prefer, "I'm the light of the world; he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but shall have the light of life."

Andy:
John, chapter 8, verse 12.

[Later, as Norton exits the cell, he hands back the Bible through the bars]

Norton:
Almost forgot; I'd hate to deprive you of this. Salvation lies within.

Andy:
Yes, sir.

Andy:
I had Mr. Mozart to keep me company...[points and taps his head.] It was in here. [gestures over his heart] And in here. That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about music?

Red:
Well... I played a mean harmonica as a younger man. Lost interest in it, though. Didn't make too much sense in here.

Andy:
No, here's where it makes the most sense. You need it so you don't forget.

Red:
Forget?

Andy:
That there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone. That there's... there's somethin' inside that they can't get to; that they can't touch. It's yours.

Red:
What are you talkin' about?

Andy:
Hope.

Red:
Hope? Let me tell you something, my friend. Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane. It's got no use on the inside. You'd better get used to that idea.

Andy:
Like Brooks did?

Heywood:
[sorting through books] "The Count of Monte Crisco"

Floyd:
That's Cristo, you dumb sh*t.

Heywood:
By Alexandree... Dum-ass. Dumbass? [Red chuckles.]

Andy:
Dumbass? [Heywood shows him the book.] Dumas. You know what that's about?

Heywood:
[confused] Uuh-uh.

Andy:
You'll like it. It's about a prison break.

Red:
Well, we ought to file that under Educational too. Oughtn't we?

Andy:
My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. [pause] I killed her Red. I didn't pull the trigger. But I drove her away. That's why she died, because of me. The way I am.

Red:
[pause] That don't make you a murderer. A bad husband, maybe. Feel bad about it if you want to, but you didn't pull the trigger.

Andy:
No, I didn't. Somebody else did. And I wound up in here. [laughs] Bad luck, I guess.

Red:
[sighs] Yeah

Andy:
It floats around. It's got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. [sighs] I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has.

Red:
I don't think you ought to be doing this to yourself, Andy. This is just shitty pipedreams. I mean, Mexico is way the hell down there and you're in here, and that's the way it is.

Andy:
Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'.

Prison Guard:
Man missing on Tier 2, Cell 245.

Haig:
Dufresne! [nobody comes out of Andy's cell] Get your ass out here, boy. You're holdin' up the show. [still no response] Don't make me come down there! I'll thump your skull for ya! [still no response, so Haig goes towards the cell] Damn it, Dufresne, you're puttin' me behind! I got a schedule to keep! You better be sick or dead in there, I sh*t you not! You hear me? [Haig reaches Andy's cell and looks inside; it's empty.] Oh, my holy God!

Norton:
I want every man on this cellblock questioned. - Start with that friend of his.

Haig:
Open 237.

Norton:
What do you mean he just wasn't here? Don't say that to me, Haig. Don't say that to me again.

Haig:
But, sir, he wasn't.

Norton:
[yelling] I can see that, Haig! Think I'm blind? That's what you say? Am I blind, Haig?

Haig:
No, sir!

Norton:
What about you? [turning to Byron] Are you blind? Tell me what this is.

Byron:
Last night's count.

Norton:
[pointing at the clipboard] You see Dufresne's name there? I sure do. See right there. Dufresne! [walks around] He was in the cell at lights out. Stands to reason he'd still be here in the morning! I want him found NOW! Not tomorrow, not after breakfast, NOW!

Haig:
Yes, sir! [walks out of the cell] Come on. Move your butts. MOVE IT!

Byron:
[shows Red to enter] Stand.

Norton:
[talking to Red] Well?

Red:
[confused] Well what?

Norton:
I see you together all the time. Thick as thieves, you were. He must have said something.

Red:
No, Mr. Warden. Not a word.

Norton:
Lord, it's a miracle! Man up and vanished like a fart in the wind! Nothing left but [grabs Andy's stone figures] damn rocks on the windowsill. And that cupcake on the wall [points at the poster] . Let's ask her. Maybe she knows. What say there, fuzzy britches? Feel like talking? Aw, guess not. Why should she be any different? [talking quietly] This is a conspiracy. That's what this is. [louder] ONE - BIG - DAMN CONSPIRACY [Norton throws stone figures at Red, Byron and other guards]! AND EVERYONE'S IN ON IT! Including her! [throws a stone figure at a poster, which goes through; Norton, surprised, pushes his finger, then his entire arm through the hole in the poster, tears it off the wall, and gasps as he sees the tunnel dug in the wall]

Rehabilitation Officer:
Ellis Boyd Redding: your file says you've served 40 years of a life sentence. Do you feel you've been rehabilitated?

Red:
Rehabilitated?... Well, now, let me see. You know, I don't have any idea what that means.

Rehabilitation Officer:
Well, it means that you're ready to rejoin society, to—

Red:
[Interrupting] I know what you think it means, sonny. To me it's just a made-up word. A politician's word, so that young fellas like yourself can wear a suit and a tie and have a job. What do you really wanna know? Am I sorry for what I did?

Rehabilitation Officer:
Well, are you?

Red:
There's not a day goes by that I don't feel regret. Not because I'm in here, or because you think I should. I look back on the way I was then: a young, stupid kid who committed that terrible crime. I want to talk to him. I want to try to talk some sense to him, tell him the way things are. But I can't. That kid's long gone, and this old man is all that's left. I gotta live with that. Rehabilitated? It's just a bullshit word. So go ahead and stamp your forms, sonny, and stop wasting my time. Because to tell you the truth, I don't give a sh*t.

[Inmates are working outside of the prison; as they are, Red and the other inmates are looking out for some rocks for Andy]

Heywood:
Hey guys! I got one! I got one! Look!

Red:
[After looking at Heywood] Heywood, that isn't soapstone. And it ain't alabaster, either.

Heywood:
What are you, a f***ing geologist?

Snooze:
He's right, it ain't.

Heywood:
Then what the hell is it then?

Red:
It's a horse apple.

Heywood:
[Pauses and looks at his hand] Bullshit!

Red:
No, horseshit. Petrified.

Heywood:
[The "rock" breaks apart in his hand and he becomes disgusted] Oh, Jesus! [Other inmates laugh at him]

[All talking about Andy after he spent time in the hole and after talking to Red]

Red:
No, I'm telling you. The guy is... he's talking funny. I'm really worried about him.

Skeet:
Let's keep an eye on him.

Jigger:
That's fine during the day but at night, he's got that cell all to himself.

Heywood:
[Horrified] Oh lord.

Red:
What?

Heywood:
Andy came down to the loading dock today, he asked me for a length of rope.

Red:
Rope?

Heywood:
6 feet long.

Snooze:
And you gave it to him?

Heywood:
Sure, why wouldn't I?

Floyd:
Oh Jesus, Heywood!

Heywood:
How was I supposed to know?

Floyd:
Remember Brooks Hatlen?

Jigger:
No. Andy'd never do that. Never.

Red:
I don't know. Every man has his breaking point.

[Opening lines, during Andy's trial]

District Attorney:
Mr. Dufresne, describe the confrontation you had with your wife the night that she was murdered.

Andy:
It was very bitter. She said she was glad I knew, that she hated all the sneaking around. And she said that she wanted a divorce in Reno.

District Attorney:
What was your response?

Andy:
I told her I would not grant one.

District Attorney:
"I'll see you in hell before I see you in Reno." Those were the words you used, Mr. Dufresne, according to the testimony of your neighbors.

Andy:
If they say so. I really don't remember; I was upset.

District Attorney:
What happened after you argued with your wife?

Andy:
She packed a bag... she packed a bag to go stay with Mr. Quentin.

District Attorney:
Glenn Quentin, golf pro at the Snowden Hills Country Club, the man who you had recently discovered was your wife's lover. Did you follow her?

Andy:
I went to a few bars first. Later, I drove to his house to confront them. They weren't home, so I parked in the turnout, and waited.

District Attorney:
With what intention?

Andy:
I'm not sure. I was confused... drunk. I think, mostly I wanted to scare them.

District Attorney:
When they arrived, you went up to the house and murdered them.

Andy:
No, I was sobering up. I went back in the car, and I drove home to sleep it off. Along the way, I stopped and I threw my gun into the Royal River; I feel I've been very clear on this point.

District Attorney:
Well, where I get hazy is where the cleaning woman shows up the following morning and finds your wife in bed with her lover, riddled with .38 caliber bullets. Now, does that strike you as a fantastic coincidence, Mr. Dufresne, or is it just me?

Andy:
Yes, it does.

District Attorney:
Yet you still maintain that you threw your gun into the river, before the murders took place. That's very convenient.

Andy:
It's the truth.

District Attorney:
The police dragged that river for three days, and nary a gun was found. So there can be no comparison made between your gun, and the bullets taken from the bloodstained corpses of the victims. And that also, is very convenient. Isn't it, Mr. Dufresne?

Andy:
Since I am innocent of this crime, sir, I find it decidedly inconvenient that the gun was never found.

District Attorney:
[addressing the court] Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard all the evidence, you know all the facts. We have the accused at the scene of the crime, we have tire tracks, we have bullets strewn on the ground that bear his fingerprints. A broken bourbon bottle, likewise with fingerprints, and most of all, we have a beautiful young woman and her lover, lying dead in each other's arms. They had sinned. But was their crime so great as to merit a death sentence? Now while you think about that, consider this: a revolver holds six bullets, not eight. I submit that this was not a hot-blooded crime of passion; that at least could be understood if not condoned. No. This was revenge of a much more brutal, cold-blooded nature. Consider this: four bullets per victim. Not six shots fired, but eight. That means that he fired the gun empty, and then stopped to reload, so that he could shoot each of them again... an extra bullet per lover, right in the head.

Judge:
You strike me as a particularly icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood to look at you. By the power vested in me by the State of Maine, I hereby order you to serve two life sentences back-to-back, one for each of your victims. So be it. [bangs gavel]

Andy:
I'm Andy Dufresne.

Red:
Wife-killing banker. Why'd you do it?

Andy:
I didn't, since you ask.

Red:
[chuckles] You're gonna fit right in. Everybody in here's innocent. Didn't you know that? [calling out to Heywood] Heywood, what you in here for?

Heywood:
Didn't do it. Lawyer f***ed me.

Red:
Rumor has it you're a real cold fish. You think your sh*t smells sweeter than most. Is that right?

Andy:
What do you think?

Red:
To tell you the truth, I haven't made up my mind.

Andy:
I understand you're a man that knows how to get things.

Red:
I'm known to locate certain things from time to time.

Andy:
I wonder if you might get me a rock hammer.

Red:
A what?

Andy:
A rock hammer.

Red:
What is it and why?

Andy:
What do you care?

Red:
Well, if it was a toothbrush, I wouldn't ask questions, I'd just quote a price. But then a toothbrush is a non-lethal object, isn't it?

Andy:
Fair enough. A rock hammer is about six or seven inches long, looks like a miniature pickax.

Red:
Pickax?

Andy:
For rocks.

Red:
Rocks? [Andy hands him a rock] Quartz?

Andy:
Quartz. [stoops down to pick up some more rocks] And some mica, shale, limestone.

Red:
So?

Andy:
So I'm a rock hound. At least I was in my old life. I'd like to be again on a limited basis.

Red:
Or maybe you'd like to sink your toy into somebody's skull.

Andy:
No, sir. No, I have no enemies here.

Red:
No? Wait a while. Word gets around. The Sisters have taken quite a liking to you. Especially Bogs. [indicates Bogs, who is watching Andy from the bleachers]

Andy:
Don't suppose it would help any if I explained to them I'm not homosexual.

Red:
Neither are they. You'd have to be human first. They don't qualify. Bull queers take by force. That's all they want or understand. But if I were you, I'd grow eyes in the back of my head.

Andy:
Thanks for the advice.

Red:
Well, that's free. You understand my concern.

Andy:
Well, if there's any trouble, I won't use the rock hammer. Okay?

Red:
Then I'd guess you want to escape. Tunnel under the wall, maybe. [Andy chuckles] Did I miss something here? What's so funny?

Andy:
You'll understand when you see the rock hammer.

Red:
What's an item like this usually go for?

Andy:
Seven dollars in any rock and gem shop.

Red:
My normal markup's 20%. But this is a specialty item. Risk goes up, price goes up. Let's make it an even ten bucks.

Andy:
Ten it is.

Red:
Waste of money, if you ask me.

Andy:
Why's that?

Red:
Folks around here love surprise inspections. They find it, you're gonna lose it. If they do catch you with it, you don't know me. You mention my name, we never do business again. Not for shoelaces or a stick of gum; now you got that?

Andy:
I understand. Thank you, Mr...?

Red:
Red. Name's Red.

Andy:
Red. Why do they call you that?

Red:
Maybe it's because I'm Irish.

[Inmates are working on the roof of the prison plate factory spreading tar; as they are, Byron Hadley is talking to some of the other guards]

Byron Hadley:
So, this big-shot lawyer calls me long-distance from Texas. I say, "Yeah?" He says, "Sorry to inform you, but your brother just died."

Youngblood:
Oh, damn. Byron, I'm sorry to hear that.

Byron Hadley:
I'm not. He was an a**hole. Ran off years ago. Figured him for dead anyway. So anyway, this lawyer fellow says to me, "Your brother died a rich man. Oil wells and sh*t. Close to a million bucks.

Trout:
A million bucks?

Byron Hadley:
Yeah, f***in' incredible how lucky some a**holes get.

Trout:
Jeez-Louise, you gonna see any of that?

Byron Hadley:
Thirty-five thousand. That's what he left me.

Trout:
Dollars?

Byron Hadley:
Yup.

Trout:
Holy sh*t! That's great! That's like winning the sweepstakes! Isn't it?

Byron Hadley:
Dumb sh*t, what you think the government's gonna do to me? Take a big, wet bite out of my ass is what.

Heywood:
Poor Byron. Terrible f***in' luck, huh?

Red:
Crying shame. Some people really got it awful. [Red glances over to see Andy looking in the guards' direction, listening to them talk] Andy, are you nuts? Keep your eyes on your mop, man!

Trout:
[continues talking to Hadley] Well, all right. You're gonna pay some tax, but you'll still end up...

Byron Hadley:
Oh, yeah, yeah. Maybe enough to buy a new car, and then what? I gotta pay tax on the car. Repair, maintenance, goddamn kids pestering you to take them for a ride all the time. Then at the end of the year, you figure the tax wrong, you gotta pay 'em out of your own pocket. I tell you, Uncle Sam. He puts his hand in your shirt and squeezes your tit till it's purple.

[Andy, still listening, starts walking in Hadley's direction.]

Red:
Andy. Andy!

Floyd:
Gettin' himself killed.

Heywood:
Keep tarrin'.

Byron Hadley:
Some brother. Sh*t.

Youngblood:
[sees Andy approaching, points and c*cks his rifle] Hey!

Andy:
Mr. Hadley, do you trust your wife?

Byron Hadley:
[pulls out his baton] Oh, that's funny. You're gonna look funnier suckin' my dick with no teeth.

Andy:
What I mean is, do you think she'd go behind your back, try to hamstring you?

Byron Hadley:
That's it. Step aside, Mert, this f***er's having himself an accident!

[Hadley grabs Andy by the collar of his shirt and begins dragging him towards the edge of the roof.]

Heywood:
He'll push him off the roof!

Andy:
Because if you do trust her, there's no reason you can't keep that thirty-five thousand!

Byron Hadley:
[stops, holding Andy over the edge of the roof] What did you say?

Andy:
Thirty-five thousand.

Byron Hadley:
Thirty-five thousand?

Andy:
All of it.

Byron Hadley:
All of it?!

Andy:
Every penny.

Byron Hadley:
You better start making sense.

Andy:
If you want to keep all that money, give it to your wife. The IRS allows a one-time-only gift to your spouse for up to sixty-thousand.

Byron Hadley:
Bullshit! Tax free?

Andy:
Tax free. IRS can't touch one cent.

Byron Hadley:
You're that smart banker what killed his wife, aren't you? Why should I believe a smart banker like you? So I can wind up in here with you?

Andy:
It's perfectly legal, go ask the IRS; they'll say the same thing. Actually, I feel stupid telling you this. I'm sure you would've investigated the matter yourself.

Byron Hadley:
Yeah, f***in' A'! I don't need no smart, wife-killin' banker to tell me where the bear sh*t in the buckwheat!

Andy:
Of course not. But you do need someone to set up the tax-free gift for you. That'll cost you. A lawyer, for example.

Byron Hadley:
Bunch of ball-washing bastards!

Andy:
Right. I suppose I could set it up for you. That would save you some money. If you get the forms, I'll prepare them for you, nearly free of charge. I'd only ask three beers apiece for each of my co-workers.

Trout:
[chuckles] "Co-workers"! Get him! That's rich, ain't it?

Andy:
I think a man working outdoors feels more like a man if he can have a bottle of suds. That's only my opinion... sir.

Byron Hadley:
[turns to the other inmates] What are you jimmies starin' at?! Back to work!

Heywood:
Let's go, work!

[The inmates resume their work. Hadley glares back at Andy but says nothing and releases his grip on him and pushes him back towards the others.]

Red:
[playing checkers with Andy] King me.

Andy:
Chess. Now there's a game of kings.

Red:
What?

Andy:
Civilized, strategic.

Red:
And a total f***ing mystery. I hate it.

Andy:
Well, maybe you'll let me teach you someday.

Red:
[chuckles] Sure.

Andy:
I've been thinking of getting a board together.

Red:
Well, hey, you're talking to the right man. I'm the guy that can get things, right?

Andy:
We might do business on a board, and I'll want to carve the pieces myself. One side in alabaster, the opposing side in soapstone. What do you think?

Red:
I think it'll take years.

Andy:
Well, years I got. What I don't have are the rocks. Pickings are pretty slim in the yard. Pebbles, mostly.

Red:
Andy, we're getting to be kind of friends, aren't we?

Andy:
Yeah, I guess.

Red:
Can I ask you something? Why'd you do it?

Andy:
I'm innocent, Red. Just like everybody else here. What are you in here for?

Red:
Murder. Same as you.

Andy:
Innocent?

Red:
Only guilty man in Shawshank.

Red:
[about Norton] He's got his fingers in a lot of pies, from what I hear.

Andy:
What you hear isn't half of it. He's got scams you haven't even dreamed of. Kickbacks on his kickbacks. There's a river of dirty money running through this place.

Red:
Yeah, but the problem with having all that money is sooner or later, you're gonna have to explain where it came from.

Andy:
Well, that's where I come in. I channel it, filter it, funnel it. Stocks, securities, tax free municipals. I send that money out into the real world and when it comes back...

Red:
Clean as a virgin's honeypot, huh?

Andy:
Cleaner. By the time Norton retires, I'll have made him a millionaire.

Red:
If they ever catch on, though, he'll wind up in here wearing a number himself.

Andy:
Oh, Red, I thought you had more faith in me than that.

Red:
I know you're good, Andy, but all that paper leaves a trail. Now, anybody gets curious, FBI, IRS, whatever, it's gonna lead to somebody.

Andy:
Sure it is, but not to me, and certainly not to the Warden.

Red:
All right, who?

Andy:
Randall Stevens.

Red:
Who?

Andy:
The "silent" silent partner. He's the guilty one, Your Honor, the man with the bank accounts. It's where the filtering process starts. They trace anything, it's just gonna lead to him.

Red:
But who is he?

Andy:
He's a phantom, an apparition. Second cousin to Harvey the Rabbit. I conjured him, out of thin air. He doesn't exist, except on paper.

Red:
Andy, you just can't make a person up.

Andy:
Sure you can, if you know how the system works, where the cracks are. It's amazing what you can accomplish by mail. Mr. Stevens has a birth certificate, driver's license, Social Security number.

Red:
You're shitting me.

Andy:
If they ever trace any of those accounts, they're gonna wind up chasing a figment of my imagination.

Red:
[smiles] Well, I'll be damned. Did I say you were good? Sh*t, you are Rembrandt.

Andy:
You know, the funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

Norton:
[after Andy tells him Tommy could prove Andy's innocence] I have to say, that's the most amazing story I ever heard. What amazes me most is that you were taken in by it.

Andy:
Sir?

Norton:
Well, it's obvious this fellow Williams is impressed with you. He hears your tale of woe and quite naturally, wants to cheer you up. He's young, not terribly bright. Not surprising he wouldn't know what a state he put you in.

Andy:
Sir, he's telling the truth.

Norton:
Well, let's say for the moment this Blatch does exist. You think he'd just fall to his knees and cry "Yes, I did it, I confess! Oh, and by the way, add a life term to my sentence."

Andy:
You know that wouldn't matter. With Tommy's testimony I can get a new trial.

Norton:
Well, that's assuming Blatch is still there. Chances are excellent he'd be released by now.

Andy:
Well they'd have his last known address, names of relatives. It's a chance, isn't it? [Norton shakes his head] How can you be so obtuse?

Norton:
What? What did you call me?

Andy:
Obtuse. Is it deliberate?

Norton:
Son, you're forgetting yourself.

Andy:
The country club will have his old time cards. Records, W-2s with his name on them.

Norton:
Dufresne, if you want to indulge this fantasy, that's your business. Don't make it mine. This meeting is over.

Andy:
Sir, if I ever get out, I'd never mention what happens here. I'd be just as indictable as you for laundering that money.

Norton:
[slams his fist on the table, stands angrily] Don't you ever mention money to me again, you sorry son of a b*tch; not in this office, not anywhere! [presses buzzer on his desk] Get in here!

Andy:
I was just trying to set your mind at ease, that's all. Sir, I didn't--

Norton:
[as guards enter] Solitary. A month!

Guard:
Yes, sir. [grabs Andy] Come on!

[The guards start to drag Andy out of the office]

Andy:
What's the matter with you?

Norton:
Get him out of here.

Andy:
This is my chance to get out! Don't you see that?! It's my life! Don't you understand?! My life!

Norton:
Get him out! GET HIM OUT!

Floyd:
A month in the hole. That's longest damn stretch I ever heard of.

Tommy:
It's all my fault.

Red:
Oh, bullshit. You didn't pull the trigger, and you certainly didn't convict him.

Heywood:
Red, are you saying that Andy is innocent? I mean, for real innocent?

Red:
Well, it looks that way.

Heywood:
Sweet Jesus. How long has he been here now?

Red:
1947. What is that, nineteen years?

Heywood:
Nineteen years...

[Tommy is led outside the prison walls into an open courtyard to talk with Norton]

Norton:
Tommy, I'm asking you to keep this conversation just between us. I feel awkward enough as it is. [Norton offers Tommy a cigarette and lights it for him] We got a situation here. I think you can appreciate that.

Tommy:
Yes, sir. I sure can.

Norton:
I tell you, son, this thing really came along and knocked my wind out. It's got me up nights; that's the truth. The right thing to do, sometimes it's hard to know what that is. Do you understand? [Tommy nods] I need your help, son. If I'm going to move on this, there can't be the least little shred of doubt. I have to know if what you told Dufresene was the truth.

Tommy:
Yes, sir. Absolutely.

Norton:
Would you be willing to swear before a judge and jury, having placed your hand on the Good Book and taken an oath before Almighty God himself?

Tommy:
Just give me that chance.

Norton:
That's what I thought.

[Norton pats Tommy on the shoulder, drops his cigarette on the ground and stubs it out, and gestures to Hadley in the watchtower, who fires four shots at Tommy from his rifle, killing him.]

[Norton visits Andy in solitary after Tommy's murder]

Norton:
I'm sure by now you've heard. Terrible thing. Man that young, less than a year to go, trying to escape. Broke Captain Hadley's heart to shoot him. Truly it did. We just have to put it behind us... move on.

Andy:
I'm done. Everything stops. Get someone else to run your scams.

Norton:
Nothing stops. Nothing... or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the Sodomites. You'll think you've been f***ed by a train. And the library? Gone... sealed off, brick-by-brick. We'll have us a little book barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns. You understand me? Catching my drift... or am I being obtuse? [beat, to Hadley] Give him another month to think about it.

Andy:
My wife used to say I'm a hard man to know. Like a closed book. Complained about it all the time. She was beautiful. God, I loved her. I just didn't know how to show it, that's all. I killed her, Red. I didn't pull the trigger. But I drove her away. And that's why she died, because of me. The way I am.

Red:
[sits next to Andy] That don't make you a murderer. A bad husband, maybe. Feel bad about it if you want to, but you didn't pull the trigger.

Andy:
No, I didn't. Somebody else did. And I wound up in here. [scoffs] Bad luck, I guess.

Red:
[sighs] Yeah.

Andy:
It floats around. It's got to land on somebody. It was my turn, that's all. I was in the path of the tornado. [sighs] I just didn't expect the storm would last as long as it has. Think you'll ever get out of here?

Red:
Me? [sighs] Yeah, one day when I got a long, white beard and two or three marbles rolling around upstairs, they'll let me out.

Andy:
I tell you where I'd go. Zihuatanejo.

Red:
Say what?

Andy:
Zihuatanejo. It's in Mexico. A little place on the Pacific Ocean. You know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific?

Red:
No.

Andy:
They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life. A warm place with no memory. Open up a little hotel, right on the beach, buy some worthless old boat, and fix it up new. Take my guests out charter fishing.

Red:
Zihuatanejo.

Andy:
In a place like that, I could use a man that knows how to get things.

Red:
I don't think I could make it on the outside, Andy. I been in here most of my life. I'm an institutional man now. Just like Brooks was.

Andy:
Well, you underestimate yourself.

Red:
I don't think so. In here, I'm the guy who can get things for you, sure, but outside all you need is the Yellow Pages. Hell, I wouldn't know where to begin. Pacific Ocean? Sh*t. Might scare me to death, something that big.

Andy:
Not me. I didn't shoot my wife, and I didn't shoot her lover. Whatever mistakes I made, I've paid for them and then some. That hotel, that boat, I don't think that's too much to ask.

Red:
I don't think you ought to be doing this to yourself, Andy. This is just shitty pipe dreams. I mean, Mexico is way the hell down there and you're in here, and that's the way it is.

Andy:
Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy livin' or get busy dyin'. [stands to leave]

Red:
Andy.

Andy:
Red. If you ever get out of here, do me a favor.

Red:
Sure, Andy. Anything.

Andy:
There's a big hayfield up near Buxton. You know where Buxton is?

Red:
Well, there's... there's a lot of hayfields up there.

Andy:
One in particular. It's got a long rock wall with a big oak tree at the north end. It's like something out of a Robert Frost poem. It's where I asked my wife to marry me. We went there for a picnic and made love under that oak and I asked and she said yes. Promise me, Red. If you ever get out... find that spot. At the base of that wall, you'll find a rock that has no earthly business in a Maine hayfield. Piece of black, volcanic glass. There's something buried under it I want you to have.

Red:
What, Andy? What's buried under there?

Andy:
You'll have to pry it up... to see.

Andy Dufresne:
Yeah, right. That's the way it is. It's down there and I'm in here. I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. Get busy living or get busy dying.

Andy Dufresne:
Forget that there are places in the world that aren't made out of stone, that there's a… there's something inside that they can't get to and they… they can't touch. It's yours.

Andy Dufresne:
It was in here...in here. That's the beauty of music. They can't get that from you. Haven't you ever felt that way about music?

Andy Dufresne:
The funny thing is, on the outside, I was an honest man, straight as an arrow. I had to come to prison to be a crook.

Andy Dufresne:
[Scrawled in a Bible he hollowed out to make space for the rock hammer he used to tunnel through his cell wall, and placed in the Warden's safe the night before his escape] "Dear Warden; You were right. Salvation lay within. Andy"

Andy Dufresne:
[in a letter] Dear Red, If you're reading this, you've gotten out. And if you've come this far, maybe you're willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don't you? I could use a good man to help me get my project on wheels. I'll keep an eye out for you and the chessboard ready. Remember, Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. I will be hoping that this letter finds you, and finds you well. Your friend, Andy.

Andy Dufresne:
Do you know what the Mexicans say about the Pacific? They say it has no memory. That's where I want to live the rest of my life; A warm place with no memory.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
There must be a con like me in every prison in America. I'm the guy who can get it for you: cigarettes, a bag of reefer, if that's your thing, a bottle of brandy to celebrate your kid's high school graduation, damn near anything within reason. Yes sir, I'm a regular Sears and Roebuck.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
The first night's the toughest, no doubt about it. They march you in naked as the day you were born, skin burning and half blind from that delousing sh*t they throw on you, and when they put you in that cell, when those bars slam home, that's when you know it's for real. A whole life blown away in the blink of an eye. Nothing left but all the time in the world to think about it. Most new fish come close to madness the first night. Somebody always breaks down crying. Happens every time. The only question is, who's it gonna be? It's as good a thing to bet on as any, I guess. I had my money on Andy Dufresne. I remember my first night. Seems like a long time ago.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
These prison walls are funny. First you hate 'em, then you get used to 'em. Enough time passes, gets so you depend on them. That's institutionalized. They send you here for life, that's exactly what they take. The part that counts, anyways.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't wanna know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful it can't be expressed in words, and it makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you those voices soared, higher and farther than anybody in a grey place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made these walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
Andy Dufresne escaped from Shawshank prison. All they found of him was a muddy set of prison clothes, a bar of soap, and an old rock hammer, damn near worn down to the nub. I remember thinking it would take a man six hundred years to tunnel through the wall with it. Old Andy did it in less than twenty.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
Oh, Andy loved geology. I imagine it appealed to his meticulous nature. An ice age here, million years of mountain building there. Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes, really. Pressure, and time. That and a big damn poster. Like I said, in prison, a man will do almost anything to keep his mind occupied. Turns out Andy's favorite hobby was totin' his wall out into the exercise yard, a handful at a time. I guess after Tommy was killed, Andy decided he'd been here just about long enough.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
Andy did like he was told; buffed those shoes to a high mirror shine. The guards simply didn't notice. Neither did I... I mean, seriously, how often do you really look at a man's shoes? Andy crawled to freedom through five hundred yards of sh*t-smelling foulness I can't even imagine- or maybe I just don't want to. Five hundred yards... that's the length of five football fields; just shy of half a mile.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
Andy Dufresne, who crawled through a river of sh*t and came out clean on the other side. Andy Dufresne, headed for the Pacific. Those of us who knew him best talk about him often. I swear, the stuff he pulled... Sometimes it makes me sad, though, Andy being gone. I have to remind myself that some birds aren't meant to be caged. Their feathers are just too bright and when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to lock them up does rejoice, but still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty now that they're gone. I guess I just miss my friend.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
I like to think the last thing that went through his head, other than that bullet, was how the hell that Andy Dufrense ever got the best of him.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
There's harsh truth to face. No way I'm gonna make it on the outside. All I do in remorse is to think a way to break my parole, so they may send me back. Terrible thing to live in fear. Brooks Hatlen knew it. All I want is to be back where things make sense, where I won't have to be afraid all the time. Only one thing stops me. A promise I made to Andy.

Ellis Boyd 'Red' Redding:
I find I'm so excited I can barely sit still or hold a thought in my head. I think it is the excitement only a free man can feel, a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain. I hope I can make it across the border. I hope to see my friend, and shake his hand. I hope the Pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams. I hope.

Warden Samuel Norton:
Put your trust in the Lord. Your ass belongs to me.

Warden Samuel Norton:
Nothing stops. Nothing... or you will do the hardest time there is. No more protection from the guards. I'll pull you out of that one-bunk Hilton and cast you down with the Sodomites. You'll think you've been f***ed by a train. And the library? Gone... sealed off, brick-by-brick. We'll have us a little book barbecue in the yard. They'll see the flames for miles. We'll dance around it like wild Injuns. You understand me? Catching my drift... or am I being obtuse? (to Hadley) Give him another month to think about it.

Warden Samuel Norton:
I want him found. Not tomorrow not after breakfast - now!

Brooks Hatlen:
[in a letter to Red after being released on parole] Dear fellas, I can't believe how fast things move on the outside. I saw an automobile once when I was a kid, but now they're everywhere. The world went and got itself in a big damn hurry. The parole board got me into this halfway house called "The Brewer" and a job bagging groceries at the Foodway. It's hard work and I try to keep up, but my hands hurt most of the time. I don't think the store manager likes me very much. Sometimes after work, I go to the park and feed the birds. I keep thinking Jake might just show up and say hello, but he never does. I hope wherever he is, he's doin' okay and makin' new friends. I have trouble sleepin' at night. I have bad dreams like I'm falling. I wake up scared. Sometimes it takes me a while to remember where I am. Maybe I should get me a gun and rob the Foodway so they'd send me home. I could shoot the manager while I was at it, sort of like a bonus. I guess I'm too old for that sort of nonsense any more. I don't like it here. I'm tired of being afraid all the time. I've decided not to stay. I doubt they'll kick up any fuss. Not for an old crook like me. P.S: Tell Heywood I'm sorry I put a knife to his throat. No hard feelings. Brooks.

Captain Byron Hadley:
You eat when we say you eat! You sh*t when we say you sh*t and you piss when we say you piss! You got that, you maggot-dick motherf***er?!

Captain Byron Hadley:
Step aside Mert, this f***er's about to have himself an accident.

Captain Byron Hadley:
Oh, that's funny. You're gonna look funnier suckin' my dick with no teeth.

Captain Byron Hadley:
Dufresne. [taps window with his baton] You're mine now.

Red:
Get busy livin' or get busy dyin' - that's goddamn right.